make a list and description of the celestial bodies that you see in the sky at different times of the day
Answers
If you think that daytime sky nature-watching is limited to clouds and birds, you might be missing out. Observing space objects in the daytime has its limitations and difficulties, but, as with all skywatching, it also has its rewards. So here is a list of 10 surprising space objects to see in the daytime sky. Aside from the first three listed below, each of these daylight observations is relatively difficult, but straightforward if you’re prepared. On the other hand, the observations toward the bottom of the list aren’t possible to predict.
That said, here they are, in increasing order of difficulty: your top 10 space objects to see in daylight.
In addition to the 10 items listed here, there are atmospheric phenomena such as this beautiful solar halo and sun dogs. While not quite space related, they are sky related and well worth coming to know. Image via Rima Biswas in Baltimore, Maryland, December 2016.
1. The sun. Obviously, you can see the sun during the day, but paradoxically, we’re told not to look, for fear of harming our eyes. And that is quite right. Gazing at the sun directly can damage your eyes.
If you do take precautions – and rig up a simple indirect viewing method for sun-watching, like the one shown here – what would you be looking for? Most people look for sunspots, which are sometimes quite large. It’s easy and fun to count the number of sunspots you see from day to day. That doesn’t take long, and, if you keep a record of what you see, you can notice profound changes over time. That’s because there’s an 11-year sunspot cycle, during which the dark spots on the sun’s surface wax and wane. We’re in an ebbing phase of the cycle now, but we still sometimes receive photos from people of sunspots, captured through telescopes with safe solar filters. And, in the coming years, the number of spots you see on the sun will gradually increase until the cycles peak.
If you’re interested in sunspots, we recommend following the website Spaceweather.com, which tracks them and offers mobile phone alerts.
Read more: Do-it-yourself sunspot watching from SpaceWeather.com
And of course, the sun is the source of a whole range of atmospheric effects, which are beyond the scope of this post. Try searching here at EarthSky for words like “halo around the sun,” “rainbows,” “iridescent clouds,” “the glory.” Or browse Les Cowley’s great website Atmospheric Optics.
You can often see the moon during the day. Here’s an almost full moon, ascending in the east in evening twilight. Beautiful! Photo by Jenney Disimon in Sabah, North Borneo.